Vietnam - Day 1

I'm back from Vietnam and that bit closer to flying home - but where is home nowadays? Normally I would say where my family is...but that isn't right because it doesn't include Tim. And I am not living permanently in Singapore just yet. So I think I will say that I am 'between homes', which is actually very close to the truth. The house hunt here has lost momentum. We found a place we liked, the owners rejected both our offers, so we are thinking about whether to go for our second choice, or put the whole search on hold until I come back in June. To be decided.

So Al and I hopped on a plane early Monday morning and took a short flight to Ho Chi Minh city (HCM) or Saigon, as the locals call it. Al was scoping out the place for a party and I tagged along for the ride. We stayed in the Hotel Continental (not the Intercontinental, where our cab drivers insisted on taking us, despite our best efforts at clear pronunciation and some use of the international language of sign). The Hotel Continental is in one of the best locations in Saigon and is housed in an extremely attractive French colonial building. But that is where the positives end. It is owned by the state tourist board and they are missing a big trick. The hotel was last refurbed in the early 80s and it was looking seriously tired. Such a shame, as it could be made into something truly spectacular - perhaps it is the influence of the dead arm of the state that is holding it back. Either way, it was good for me to demonstrate to my sister that I don't always need to stay in 5* hotels :)

Our hotel at night - pretty from the outside!

We explored the city on the first day, in scorching heat. I was surprised how hot it was - much hotter than Singapore. I had to make an emergency hat purchase in the Diamond Mall (I hadn't been in a mall for at least 12 hours by that point, so I needed a hit) but it was a case of buy in haste, repent at leisure. Let's just say, the hat won't be modelled outside of Vietnam. Still, it did the trick. After that we walked up a wide, shady boulevard with the Reunification Palace at one end and then headed to a large, smelly and extremely hot indoor market where Al bought three communist hats for a song. By this time, we were both sweating profusely so we headed to a restaurant that supposedly serves the best Vietnamese food in Saigon. Al's dish was good (pork meatballs with rice). I didn't order right. Then it was time for a power snooze.

The Reunification Palace - we weren't really sure what it was all about

The view from the Reunification Palace

Saigon is a hectic place and it turns out that you do need to fear for your life when crossing the road. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of scooters jostling with each other plus buses and taxis. No one looks when they pull out into a main road, no one indicates, they cut each other up and beep their horns constantly but it does seem to work. Apparently, the best way to see the city is on the back of a scooter. If we had stayed in Saigon today that is what we would have been doing. Next time maybe...

In front of the Notre Dame church, with a few scooters in the background

You forget that Vietnam is still a communist country when you see how rampant capitalism is - designer shops are everywhere, everyone has the latest mobile phones, the latest scooters and there are shiny new buildings being thrown up all over the place. But there are also billboards around town that remind you of the communist regime's influence, such as the one below. Even though the government has introduced measures to liberalise the economy, that's as far as they have gone. Did you know, Facebook is blocked in Vietnam? Contradictions abound, but it is a fascinating place and I hope that Tim and I can explore it together soon. It is also the cheapest country I have ever visited!

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